Weak-field limit of f(R)-gravity in three and more spatial dimensions

Abstract

We investigate a point-like massive source in non-linear f(R) theories in the case of arbitrary number of spatial dimensions D\geq 3. If D>3 then extra dimensions undergo toroidal compactification. We consider a weak-field approximation with Minkowski and de Sitter background solutions. In both these cases point-like massive sources demonstrate good agreement with experimental data only in the case of ordinary three-dimensional (D=3) space. We generalize this result to the case of perfect fluid with dust-like equations of state in the external and internal spaces. This perfect fluid is uniformly smeared over all extra dimensions and enclosed in a three-dimensional sphere. In ordinary three dimensional (D=3) space, our formulas are useful for experimental constraints on parameters of f(R) models.